A new <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/abc-coronavirus-poll-wave-13">ABC News/Ipsos poll</a> released Friday found that a majority of Americans oppose the idea of renaming U.S. military bases named after Confederate leaders, a vast majority still oppose paying reparations to descendants of slaves, and a strong majority support banning police use of chokeholds.
The new study comes amid heightened calls for the removal of Confederate statues and the renaming of military bases, as well as a growing &#8220;Defund the Police&#8221; movement that includes demands for radical police reform and even the outright &#8220;abolishing&#8221; of departments.
The poll of 727 adults (conducted June 17 -18 and including &#8220;oversamples of black and Hispanic respondents&#8221;) asked Americans if they are opposed to or support &#8220;changing the names of U.S. military bases that are named after Confederate leaders.&#8221;
A total of 56% said they oppose changing base names, including 59% of Independents. A total of 42% of respondents support the idea, including about two-thirds (67%) of African-Americans and 54% of Hispanics. A strong majority of Democrats back the idea (71%), while only 13% of Republicans and 40% of Independents support it. Younger respondents also tend to support the idea more than older respondents. A slight majority (55%) of 18-29-year-olds support it, in comparison to just 32% of the 65+ demographic.
NBC found that nearly three-fourths of respondents were against the idea of reparations for slavery. Asked if the U.S. should &#8220;pay money to black Americans whose ancestors were slaves as compensations for that slavery,&#8221; 73% said no.
As with renaming bases, race appears to play a significant role in respondents&#8217; positions. While only 14% of white Americans support reparations, 72% of African Americans support it and 34% of Hispanics support the idea. Democrats are the most divided on the issue: 54% support, 45% reject, while 94% of Republicans and 82% of Independents oppose it.
<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/divisions-emerge-renaming-military-bases-reparations-amid-unrest/story">ABC News</a> provides some context for the findings:
<blockquote>Although we have seen large changes in opinion on a wide variety of issues revolving around race in America, there has been only a slight change in attitudes about reparations over the last 20 years. An ABC News/Washington Post poll from June 1997 found that only 19% of Americans backed providing black Americans whose ancestors were slaves with payments, while 77% opposed it. In 1997, 65% of blacks and a meager 10% of whites supported reparations, a split that is about the same as this week’s poll.</blockquote>
The one issue that received majority support overall was police chokeholds. A total of 63% of respondents support &#8220;banning the use of chokeholds by police officers,&#8221; among them 51% of Republicans, 71% of Democrats, 63% of Independents, 63% of white Americans, 71% of African Americans, and 56% of Hispanics. The most divided of the groups were Republican, 48% of whom oppose it.
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The poll was conducted from June 17 through 18, 2020. It involved 727 adult respondents, and &#8220;oversamples of black and Hispanic respondents&#8221; (sampling error: 4.1 points). (More details <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/466220968/ABC-News-Ipsos-Poll-June-19-docx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.)
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-burn-american-flag-on-fire-on-top-of-george-washington-statue-tear-it-down">WATCH: Rioters Set American Flag On Fire On Top Of George Washington Statue, Tear It Down</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.
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Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Holds A White House Briefing

Poll: How Do Americans Feel Now About Changing Military Base Names, Reparations, Chokeholds?

American History

Law Enforcement

Race

Amid heightened racial tensions across the country, a Mexican-American former employee of San Diego Gas and Electric says he was fired after a stranger accused him on Twitter of making a &#8220;white supremacist&#8221; hand gesture. The employee, Emmanuel Cafferty, who describes himself as coming from a racially diverse family, expressed dismay at the sequence of events leading to his termination and bafflement over the accusation, explaining that he was simply cracking his knuckles while sitting in his company vehicle and was not even aware that the racially charged symbol existed.
According to <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/sdge-worker-fired-over-alleged-racist-gesture-says-he-was-cracking-knuckles/2347414/">NBC 7 San Diego</a>, which first reported on the termination of Cafferty on Monday, the incident all started roughly two weeks earlier at a Black Lives Matter rally held in Poway, a city about 20 miles northeast of San Diego.
Cafferty reportedly encountered a stranger on the roadway who followed the Mexican-American SDG&amp;E employee and took a photo of him with his arm hanging out of the window.
One of Cafferty&#8217;s fingers was curled back under his thumb, while the other fingers hung loose, making what appeared to be an &#8220;okay&#8221; symbol.
The person who followed and photographed Cafferty then posted the image on Twitter and accused the Mexican-American man of making a &#8220;white power&#8221; hand gesture, NBC 7 reports (screenshot below).
<img class="alignnone wp-image-121815" src="https://editorial.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Cafferty-300x189.jpg" alt="Cafferty's &quot;OK&quot; gesture" width="500" height="315" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/06/Cafferty-300x189.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/06/Cafferty-915x576.jpg 915w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/06/Cafferty-768x483.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/06/Cafferty.jpg 1217w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" />
The &#8220;white supremacist&#8221; gesture is generally made by forming a circle with the thumb and the index finger, creating a &#8220;W&#8221; and a &#8220;P&#8221; when the hand is held upright. As NBC notes, the <a href="https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture">Anti-Defamation League</a> provides an illustration of the gesture and summary of it context, concluding that in &#8220;most contexts&#8221; it is simply used as the &#8220;okay&#8221; symbol and thus &#8220;entirely innocuous and harmless&#8221; (see excerpt from ADL&#8217;s explanation below).
The image began to make the rounds online, and soon after, a supervisor informed Cafferty that he was suspended and an investigation into the photo was being conducted. After what the company maintains was a &#8220;good faith and thorough&#8221; investigation, Cafferty was fired a few days later.
Cafferty told the outlet Monday that he is &#8220;baffled&#8221; by the whole thing and lamented having lost his &#8220;dream job&#8221; over supposedly making a racially charged gesture that he says he did not even know existed.
&#8220;When my supervisor said that I was being accused of doing a white supremacist gesture, that was baffling,&#8221; said Cafferty.
&#8220;I don’t know how long it&#8217;s going to take me to get over this, but to lose your dream job for playing with your fingers, that’s a hard pill to swallow,&#8221; he said.
The power company issued a statement defending their decision to terminate Cafferty. &#8220;We hold all SDG&amp;E employees to a high standard and expect them to live up to our values every day,&#8221; the statement reads. &#8220;We conducted a good faith and thorough investigation that included gathering relevant information and multiple interviews, and took appropriate action.&#8221;
In his comments to NBC, Cafferty made a point of praising his former employer for taking racism seriously, but asked that he might have his &#8220;dream job&#8221; back.
As for the guy who posted the picture on Twitter that ultimately got Cafferty fired, he told NBC 7 that he did not intend to get Cafferty fired and suggested that the whole thing might come down to a misunderstanding. The man says he has since deleted his account and said that he might have misinterpreted and &#8220;spun up&#8221; his interactions with Cafferty.
Below is an excerpt from the ADL&#8217;s discussion of the &#8220;<a href="https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/okay-hand-gesture">Okay Hand Gesture</a>&#8220;:
<blockquote>The “okay” hand gesture—in which the thumb and index finger touch while the other fingers of the hand are held outstretched—is an obvious and ancient gesture that has arisen in many cultures over the years with different meanings.
Today, in a usage that dates to at least as early as 17th century Great Britain, it most commonly signals understanding, consent, approval or well-being. Since the early 1800s, the gesture increasingly became associated with the word “okay” and its abbreviation “ok.”  The gesture is also important in the Hindu and Buddhist worlds, as well as in yoga, where it is known as mudra or vitarka mudra, a symbol of inner perfection.  The &#8220;okay&#8221; hand gesture also forms part of the basis for a number of words or concepts in American Sign Language. It appears in many other contexts as well.
Use of the okay symbol in most contexts is entirely innocuous and harmless.
In 2017, the “okay” hand gesture acquired a new and different significance thanks to a <a href="https://www.adl.org/blog/how-the-ok-symbol-became-a-popular-trolling-gesture">hoax by members of the website 4chan</a> to falsely promote the gesture as a hate symbol, claiming that the gesture represented the letters “wp,” for “white power.” The “okay” gesture hoax was merely the latest in a series of similar 4chan hoaxes using various innocuous symbols; in each case, the hoaxers hoped that the media and liberals would overreact by condemning a common image as white supremacist.
In the case of the “okay” gesture, the hoax was so successful the symbol became a popular trolling tactic on the part of right-leaning individuals, who would often post photos to social media of themselves posing while making the “okay” gesture.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Close up of Employee termination form

Man Fired From ‘Dream Job’ Over ‘White Supremacist’ Gesture; He’s Mexican-American, Says He Was Just Cracking His Knuckles

San Diego

Some police officers in the Atlanta Police Department are reportedly continuing to call out sick in protest of Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard&#8217;s decision to file felony murder charges against former officer Garrett Rolfe for shooting Rayshard Brooks after Brooks fired a taser at Rolfe.
Interim Chief Rodney Bryant told The Associated Press that the sick calls that started on Wednesday continued into Thursday, but said that the department had enough officers to cover the void. Bryant told the AP that officers have worked long hours the last three weeks and have been yelled at, spit on, and had objects thrown at them — some of which has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-violent-rioters-bust-into-cnn-headquarters-throw-explosive-inside">caught on live television</a>.
“Some are angry. Some are fearful. Some are confused on what we do in this space. Some may feel abandoned,” Bryant said. “But we are there to assure them that we will continue to move forward and get through this.”
“At some point, people get tired, I recognize that, and physically exhausted,” Bryant continued. “We will definitely get beyond it, and I’m certain that we will see our sick-outs drop back to normal, average.”
There were widespread reports on Wednesday night that officers were calling out ahead of their shifts and that officers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/atlanta-police-officers-not-responding-to-calls-in-multiple-zones-comes-after-d-a-charged-officer-with-murder-in-rayshard-brooks-case">were not responding to calls in multiple zones</a> in the area.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) responded to Howard&#8217;s charges against Rolfe and the other officer that was on scene, Devin Brosnan, by saying that they were not consulted on the charges and their investigation into the incident was not over. The GBI <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgia-bureau-of-investigation-responds-to-d-a-s-charges-we-werent-consulted-investigation-not-over">said</a> in a statement:
<blockquote>The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested by the Atlanta Police Department on Friday night, June 12th, to investigate an officer involved shooting at the Wendy’s Restaurant on University Avenue. We are in the process of conducting this investigation. Although we have made significant progress in the case, we have not completed our work. Our goal in every officer involved shooting case we are requested to review, is to complete a thorough, impartial investigation before we submit the file to the respective District Attorney’s Office.
The GBI was not aware of today’s press conference before it was conducted. We were not consulted on the charges filed by the District Attorney. Despite today’s occurrence, the GBI will complete its mission of completing an impartial and thorough investigation of this incident and we will submit the file, once completed, to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.</blockquote>
The AP said that in their interview with Bryant, the interim chief expressed surprise by how quickly the charges were filed and noted that the GBI had not finished their investigation.
On Tuesday, Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams, who is black, told CNN that the shooting was &#8220;completely justified&#8221; and that the district attorney&#8217;s remarks at his press conference were &#8220;ridiculous.&#8221;
Williams told CNN, “There&#8217;s nothing malicious or sadistic in the way these officers behaved.”
&#8220;And it’s very unfortunate that the law enforcement leaders in the state of Georgia have not come out and stood together on this case,&#8221; Williams <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-black-georgia-sheriff-tells-cnn-shooting-of-rayshard-brooks-was-completely-justified">said</a>. &#8220;I think it’s political and it’s senseless. We’re sending the wrong message to our black youth, we’re telling them that it’s OK, that they can run from the police, they can take a weapon from the police, they can fight with the police. And point a weapon at the police, and expect nothing to happen. That is the wrong message to send to black youth.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Burke County, Georgia, Sheriff Alfonzo Williams says the shooting of Rayshard Brooks was “completely justified.” “There&#39;s nothing malicious or sadistic in the way these officers behaved,” he says, adding that this case can&#39;t be compared to those of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. <a href="https://t.co/Px6hwdffZN">pic.twitter.com/Px6hwdffZN</a>
&mdash; CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/1272958183540219905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Atlanta Protest Held In Response To Police Custody Death Of Minneapolis Man George Floyd

Atlanta Police Continuing To Call Out Sick Over D.A.’s Decision To Charge Police Officer

Atlanta

Black Lives Matter

Defund The Police

Oakland Democrat Mayor Libby Schaaf said on Wednesday that &#8220;several nooses&#8221; found in a park this week have been removed and that a hate crime investigation has been launched and the FBI is now involved in the matter.
However, The Associated Press <a href="https://www.wkyt.com/2020/06/18/nooses-in-oakland-park-were-exercise-aids-man-says/">reported</a> that Victor Sengbe, who is black, has come forward and said that he and his friends put the ropes there months ago for the purpose of creating a swing system for exercising.
&#8220;Out of the dozen and hundreds and thousands of people that walked by, no one has thought that it looked anywhere close to a noose. Folks have used it for exercise. It was really a fun addition to the park that we tried to create,&#8221; Sengbe said. &#8220;It&#8217;s unfortunate that a genuine gesture of just wanting to have a good time got misinterpreted into something so heinous.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Victor Sengbe of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oakland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oakland</a> says the nooses found in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LakeMerritt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LakeMerritt</a> were not a symbol of hate. He says the nooses were used to attach a makeshift swing. “It’s unfortunate that a genuine gesture of just wanting to create a good time got misinterpreted.” <a href="https://twitter.com/nbcbayarea?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nbcbayarea</a> <a href="https://t.co/7vutrZYDHu">pic.twitter.com/7vutrZYDHu</a>
&mdash; Melissa Colorado (@melissacolorado) <a href="https://twitter.com/melissacolorado/status/1273393641403199490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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That apparently did not matter to Schaaf, who said in a statement that it does not matter if the ropes were part of exercise equipment because that does &#8220;not remove nor excuse their torturous and terrorizing effects.&#8221;
In a <a href="http://archive.is/3cu4n">statement</a>, Schaaf said:
<blockquote>Symbols of racial violence have no place in Oakland and will not be tolerated.
Several nooses found on trees around Lake Merritt were removed and will be investigated as hate crimes. Reports that these were part of exercise equipment do not remove nor excuse their torturous and terrorizing effects.
We are all responsible for knowing the history and present day reality of lynchings, hate crimes and racial violence. Objects that invoke such terror will not be tolerated in Oakland&#8217;s public spaces.</blockquote>
Schaaf, who has been accused of <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/16/trump-sessions-oakland-mayor-prosecution-sanctuary-cities-594470">obstructing justice</a> by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/28/oakland-mayor-libby-schaaf-tipped-off-immigrants-about-ice-raid-and-isnt-sorry-she-did/">tipping off</a> illegal aliens to raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, made similar statements at a news conference. She later posted a video to her Twitter account that spliced together different parts of remarks that she gave at the press conference.
&#8220;The Oakland Police Department has turned over the evidence to the FBI. We have to start with the assumption that these are hate crimes,&#8221; Schaaf said. &#8220;We cannot take these actions lightly. These symbols are symbols of racial violence and it’s incumbent on all of us to have that sensitivity, to have that knowledge and that is why I have directed our staff to remove any such symbol of hatred, regardless of the intention of what put it there.&#8221;
&#8220;What a privilege for those of us that don’t feel complete fear and terror when we see a rope in a tree, that is a privilege that so many of our African American residents do not enjoy,&#8221; Schaff continued. &#8220;You see an overwhelming amount of, of anguish, of rage, of fatigue, of grief, and yes, the fact that we had an extremist charged with the murder of Patrick Underwood, an extremist group, the Boogaloos, that is trying to foment a race war, we have to see this moment for what it is: a reckoning.&#8221;
&#8220;And in Oakland, we cannot further terrorize or traumatize our black residents and yes, the incidents of the last few weeks, but frankly of the last few centuries, is the backdrop upon which we have to make these decisions today. Enough is enough. And again, the intentions do not matter, because the harm is real,&#8221; Schaff concluded. &#8220;They will matter with regard to whether or not this is in fact charged as a hate crime, but they do not matter about whether or not we should tolerate symbols of hate and violence and torture in our public spaces. They do not have a place here in Oakland.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Intentions do not matter. We will not tolerate symbols of hate in our city. The nooses found at Lake Merritt will be investigated as hate crimes. <a href="https://t.co/B1f1SwZ4tK">pic.twitter.com/B1f1SwZ4tK</a>
&mdash; Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibbySchaaf/status/1273418902953811968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On Thursday, in what appeared to be a separate incident altogether, Schaaf wrote in a statement that &#8220;a human effigy hung from a tree at Lake Merritt&#8221; was removed by officials.
&#8220;Earlier this morning, we removed a human effigy hung from a tree at Lake Merritt &#8211; a deliberate and vile attempt to traumatize and divide Oaklanders. We immediately engaged the FBI to investigate this heinous act for what it clearly is &#8211; a hate crime,&#8221; Schaaf wrote. &#8220;We are in a raw and outraged moment as a city and a country right now. I ask Oaklanders to be vigilant and build your own conscious of the trauma caused by symbols of racial violence.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Earlier this morning, we removed a human effigy hung from a tree at Lake Merritt — a deliberate and vile attempt to traumatize and divide Oaklanders. We immediately engaged the FBI to investigate this heinous act for what it clearly is — a hate crime. <a href="https://t.co/rsGk9zeSd9">pic.twitter.com/rsGk9zeSd9</a>
&mdash; Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/LibbySchaaf/status/1273754459307294720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Speaks At The Cannabis Business Summit And Expo

Oakland Mayor Launches Hate Crime Probe Into ‘Nooses’ In Trees. Black Man Says It’s Exercise Equipment He Put There.

Hate Crime

Oakland

The day after an intense exchange with Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) about race and family, Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) revealed that he has been raising an adopted son from Cuba for about the last six years — a fact he suggests may illuminate why he became so angry during the hearing. 
“For all those wondering, this is my son Nestor. We share no blood but he is my life. He came from Cuba (legally, of course) six years ago and lives with me in Florida,” said Gaetz. “I am so proud of him and raising him has been the best, most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life.”
“As you can imagine, I was triggered when (to make an absurd debate point) a fellow congressman diminished the contributions of Republicans because we don’t raise non-white kids,” he said. “Well, I have.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Nestor turned 19 a few days ago &amp; will be off to University. He arrived here at 12.
As you can imagine, I was triggered when (to make an absurd debate point) a fellow congressman diminished the contributions of Republicans because we don’t raise non-white kids.
Well, I have.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1273646491182260232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
In an interview with <a href="https://people.com/politics/matt-gaetz-tells-story-boy-he-raised-as-a-son/">People Magazine</a>, Gaetz revealed that he began raising Nestor shortly after he arrived from Cuba around age 12, with the exception of a period of time when Nestor lived with his biological father during his junior year of high school. 
At the time Nestor came to the United States, Gaetz was dating Nestor’s older sister and the boy’s mother had just died of breast cancer. People Magazine notes that Gaetz declined to elaborate on Nestor&#8217;s relationship with his biological relatives. 
“My work with Nestor, our family, no element of my public service could compare to the joy that our family has brought me,” said Gaetz. 
The congressman, who was a state legislator at the time he says he informally took in Nestor, says he kept Nestor from the public eye for privacy reasons: “I felt like coming to the country, dealing with the death of a mother, learning English and enduring the normal trials and tribulations of high school and middle school were enough on the young man’s plate.”
But Gaetz now says Nestor, who is 19 and getting ready for college, is ready to identify himself with the congressman. After Gaetz made the announcement, Nestor replied from his own Twitter account: “I love you, keep up the good work, we all support you and love you.”
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-matt-gaetz-and-son-nestor-appear-together-on-fox-news/2020/06/18/bdc32fde-b1cd-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html">The Washington Post</a>, Richmond declined to respond to the news about Gaetz’s family announcement but suggested that the congressman may not have prepared his son for how to interact with the police as a person of color. 
“From his display yesterday, I don’t think that son is going to get an adequate talk that goes with being a person of color in America because I think that the congressman doesn’t get it,” said Richmond. “We all know that the talk that you have to have, especially with young black males and males of color, about their interactions with police — I’m not sure he has the life experience to give that.”
In the interview with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republican-matt-gaetz-and-son-nestor-appear-together-on-fox-news/2020/06/18/bdc32fde-b1cd-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html#comments-wrapper">People Magazine</a>, Gaetz suggested otherwise, explaining that he’s “had ‘the talk’ with Nestor about how to interact with law enforcement,” and that it’s “probably a different talk than I would have had if I had a white son.&#8221;
During the committee hearing, Richmond suggested that other members of Congress didn’t have the same worries as him, on account that he is black, has been a victim of excessive force in the past, and also has a black son. Later in the hearing, Gaetz pushed back: “Are you suggesting that you&#8217;re certain that none of us have non-white children?&#8221; 
“Matt, Matt, stop! I’m not about to get sidetracked about the color of our children,” responded Richmond, which prompted some back and forth related to procedure. “I already know that there are people on the other side that have black grandchildren. It is not about the color of your kids, it is about black males — black people in the streets — that are getting killed. And if one of them happens to be your kid, I’m concerned about him too, and clearly I’m more concerned about him than you are.”
Gaetz issued a forceful reply: “You’re claiming you have more concern for my family than I do? Who in the hell do you think you are?”
“If the shoe fits,” replied Richmond.
“You don’t know how much we care about our families! This is outrageous! You should take those words down,” responded Gaetz. “I know you care about your family and love your family, so do we, damnit!”
In a brief appearance on Tucker Carlson on Thursday evening, Nestor said of the viral exchange between Gaetz and Richmond: “I think it’s kind of unfair to tell someone that they don’t understand because of their racial color.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Nestor is the light of my life. I couldn&#8217;t imagine loving him any more if he was my own flesh and blood. I&#8217;m proud of him.
I&#8217;ve raised Nestor to believe we treat everyone equally. It doesn&#8217;t matter what their background or race is.
We treat every American with respect. <a href="https://t.co/4C7xmdNJ6R">pic.twitter.com/4C7xmdNJ6R</a>
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1273781768286502912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
After Gaetz made his Twitter announcement about his family, some Twitter users floated conspiracy theories about Nestor, prompting former Congresswoman Katie Hill (D-CA), who resigned last year, to issue a forceful defense of him. 
“Many of you know [Matt Gaetz] [and] I have an unlikely friendship. I can’t stand a lot of his beliefs but he’s been there for me when others haven’t. He talks about Nestor more than anything, has done so much for his son [and] is truly a proud dad. This<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/freenestor?src=hashtag_click"> #freenestor</a> thing is bullshit. Stop,” said the former congresswoman. 
“Also he was never &#8216;hiding&#8217; his son. He was trying to protect him from the crap that comes from being a politician’s kid, [especially] after what Nestor had been through, [especially] in this political climate. Now that Nestor is grown he’s made his own choice to enter the spotlight. Good for them,” said Hill. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Also he was never “hiding” his son. He was trying to protect him from the crap that comes from being a politician’s kid, esp after what Nestor had been through, esp in this political climate. Now that Nestor is grown he’s made his own choice to enter the spotlight. Good for them.
— Katie Hill (@KatieHill4CA) <a href="https://twitter.com/KatieHill4CA/status/1273698286939996160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Rep. Matt Gaetz

Matt Gaetz Reveals He Has An Adopted Cuban Son After Intense Committee Exchange About Race, Family

Katie Hill

Matt Gaetz

Actress Bryce Dallas Howard said she would not star in the 2011 movie &#8220;The Help&#8221; if the role were offered to her today given the current climate on race relations.
Though &#8220;The Help&#8221; won Octavia Spencer an Oscar – becoming the sixth black woman to take home the gold statue behind Hattie McDaniel, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, and Mo&#8217;Nique – actress Bryce Dallas Howard believes the movie is tainted by the fact it was told through the lens of white people with mostly white storytellers.
Asked by the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-06-17/bryce-dallas-howard-dads-the-help-psa-jurassic-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Los Angeles Times</a> for an interview published Wednesday if she would &#8220;still make &#8216;The Help&#8217; today,&#8221; Howard said, &#8220;No.&#8221;
&#8220;But what I will say is: What I’ve seen is that folks have the courage to say that. &#8216;With all due respect, I love this project, I do not think you could be the filmmaker,'&#8221; she continued. &#8220;That’s a really powerful thing to say. That’s an important stance to take in order to make room for the true authentic storytellers. &#8230; In this transformation that’s happening, there’s a new freedom of expression. I’m seeing from others — and feeling from myself — that it is less about worrying about offending people and looking within and saying, &#8216;Why? What really am I scared of, and what is that reinforcing?&#8217; And so I posted it and didn’t look back.&#8221;
In an Instagram post earlier this month, the &#8220;Jurassic World&#8221; actress responded to reports that &#8220;The Help&#8221; was the number one movie on Netflix. Though she appreciated the fandom, she recommended they watch other race-themed movies – the kind that provides what she suggested are less &#8220;fictional&#8221; portrayals of race relations – instead of &#8220;The Help.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve heard that [The Help] is the most viewed film on [Netflix] right now! I’m so grateful for the exquisite friendships that came from that film — our bond is something I treasure deeply and will last a lifetime,&#8221; the actress and director said in her post. &#8220;This being said, &#8216;The Help&#8217; is a fictional story told through the perspective of a white character and was created by predominantly white storytellers. We can all go further.⁣&#8221; 
⁣ 
&#8220;Stories are a gateway to radical empathy and the greatest ones are catalysts for action,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;If you are seeking ways to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, lynchings, segregation, Jim Crow, and all the ways in which those have an impact on us today, here are a handful of powerful, essential, masterful films and shows that center Black lives, stories, creators, and/or performers.&#8221;
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</a> 
 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CBKNHW9Aq2r/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">I’ve heard that #TheHelp is the most viewed film on @netflix right now! I’m so grateful for the exquisite friendships that came from that film &#8212; our bond is something I treasure deeply and will last a lifetime. This being said, The Help is a fictional story told through the perspective of a white character and was created by predominantly white storytellers. We can all go further.⁣ ⁣ Stories are a gateway to radical empathy and the greatest ones are catalysts for action. If you are seeking ways to learn about the Civil Rights Movement, lynchings, segregation, Jim Crow, and all the ways in which those have an impact on us today, here are a handful of powerful, essential, masterful films and shows that center Black lives, stories, creators, and / or performers: ⁣ ⁣ 13th ⁣ Eyes on the Prize⁣ I am Not Your Negro⁣ Just Mercy⁣ Malcom X⁣ Say Her Name: The Life And Death Of Sandra Bland⁣ Selma⁣ Watchmen⁣ When They See Us ⁣ ⁣ This is not a comprehensive list so please add to it in the comments below!</a>
<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/brycedhoward/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Bryce Dallas Howard</a> (@brycedhoward) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-06-08T03:43:52+00:00">Jun 7, 2020 at 8:43pm PDT</time>
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</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
&nbsp;
Actress Viola Davis, who was nominated for an Oscar for &#8220;The Help,&#8221; recently told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/movies/viola-davis-interview-widows-toronto-film-festival.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times </a>that she wishes the movie explored the black characters more.
&#8220;I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn’t the voices of the maids that were heard. I know [my character] Aibileen. I know [Octavia Spencer&#8217;s character] Minny. They’re my grandma. They’re my mom,&#8221; Davis said. &#8220;And I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for white people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party &#8211; Dinner

Bryce Dallas Howard: I Would Not Act In ‘The Help’ If It Were Being Made Today

Hollywood

Rioters burned an American flag on top of a statue of George Washington in Portland on Thursday night before destroying the statue by tearing it down.
The statue was pulled down by a group of rioters who reportedly converged on NE Sandy Boulevard and NE 57th Avenue at around 10 p.m.
&#8220;Some wrapped the statue’s head in an American flag and lit the flag on fire,&#8221; KOIN News <a href="https://www.koin.com/news/protests/portland-protests-black-lives-matter-blm-george-floyd-police-reform-racial-justice-demonstration-rally-march-day-21/">reported</a>. &#8220;Their numbers grew over the next hour until there were enough people to pull the statue to the ground. They quickly scattered.&#8221;
A news crew from the outlet &#8220;found the statue face down and covered in graffiti.&#8221; Shortly after it was toppled, Portland police arrived on the scene, KOIN reports.
Journalist Andy Ngo tweeted out videos of the destruction of property, writing: &#8220;Antifa rioters on Sandy Blvd. in Portland draped a US flag over a George Washington statue [and] set it on fire. They then toppled the statue. &#8216;Genocidal colonist&#8217; [and] &#8216;f— cops&#8217; are sprayed on monument. Rioters have began to build another autonomous zone nearby.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Antifa rioters on Sandy Blvd. in Portland draped a US flag over a George Washington statue &amp; set it on fire. They then toppled the statue. “Genocidal colonist” &amp; “f— cops” are sprayed on monument. Rioters have began to build another autonomous zone nearby. <a href="https://t.co/TrZkhPK9zp">pic.twitter.com/TrZkhPK9zp</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1273861696654729217?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ngo continued: &#8220;The nearly 100-year-old statue of George Washington in NE Portland has been pulled down. There are no police in the area.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The nearly 100-year-old statue of George Washington in NE Portland has been pulled down. There are no police in the area. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/antifa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#antifa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a href="https://t.co/qdiY1Y0Zo8">pic.twitter.com/qdiY1Y0Zo8</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1273862338764931072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the final video, Ngo wrote: &#8220;Another American flag was laid over the toppled George Washington statue in Portland and set on fire.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Another American flag was laid over the toppled George Washington statue in Portland and set on fire. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/antifa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#antifa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a href="https://t.co/Lm9e7Q84Gr">pic.twitter.com/Lm9e7Q84Gr</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1273866542279618563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ngo later added a video showing the aftermath and the destruction by the leftist protesters.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Portland wakes up to see what antifa did overnight. A century old statue of George Washington was toppled &amp; set on fire with an American flag. “White fragility,” “Damn white men” &amp; other messages are written on the moment. On the ground nearby: “Defund white men.” <a href="https://t.co/zjrsZHJC9o">pic.twitter.com/zjrsZHJC9o</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1273969935497084930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Left-wing rioters have destroyed monuments and statues across the country in recent weeks after the death of George Floyd, which follows violent riots and looting that broke out in inner cities across the country.
Last week, rioters destroyed a Christopher Columbus statue in Minneapolis that was created by an Italian immigrant as a gift from the state&#8217;s Italian-Americans. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rioters-tear-down-christopher-columbus-statue-in-minneapolis-an-immigrant-built-it-gave-it-as-a-gift">reported</a>:
<blockquote>“The 10-foot bronze statue was pulled from its granite base by several dozen people led by a Minnesota-based Native American activist outside the state Capitol,” Reuters reported. The destruction of property comes as riots have erupted in inner cities amid a wave of protests over the death of George Floyd. Some of the rioters have started to tear down historical monuments that they deem to be offensive.
According to a Minneapolis government web page, “The 10-foot tall bronze sculpture of Christopher Columbus was dedicated on October 12, 1931 and was presented as a gift from Minnesota’s Italian-Americans. The sculpture sits on a red granite base embellished with carvings of sea shells and fish around the top and on either sides are eagles with spread wings atop globe-shaped spheres. Sculptor: Carlo Brioschi, dedicated on October 12, 1931; restoration and preservation efforts in 1992.”</blockquote>
WATCH: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rioters-tear-down-christopher-columbus-statue-in-minneapolis-an-immigrant-built-it-gave-it-as-a-gift">Rioters Tear Down Christopher Columbus Statue In Minneapolis. An Immigrant Built It, Gave It As A Gift.</a>
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Boston was weighing taking down a statue of Abraham Lincoln that featured a freed slave rising to his knees while holding a broken chain. The statue is a replica of the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C., which was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boston-weighs-removing-replica-emancipation-memorial-of-lincoln-freed-slave-slaves-paid-for-the-original-memorial">purchased by freed slaves</a> as a tribute to Lincoln.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

The Bronze statue of George Washington on the front steps of Federal Hall in Wall Street, Manhattan,

WATCH: Rioters Set American Flag On Fire On Top Of George Washington Statue, Tear It Down

Antifa

George Washington

The company that fired the stepmother of former Atlanta Police Department officer Garrett Rolfe, who was involved in the fatal Rayshard Brooks arrest, has released a second statement about the decision to terminate her.
The news went viral on Thursday after Fox News host Tucker Carlson ran a segment on the officer&#8217;s stepmother, saying, “Until today, his stepmother, her name is Melissa Rolfe, was the HR director at a place called Equity Prime Mortgage in Atlanta, Georgia.”
“But today, she was let go. She’s no longer in that role. Apparently she was fired, and her only crime was being officer Rolfe’s stepmother,” Carlson continued. “According to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to this program, Rolfe was promised that her job was safe, but today she was told, ‘We have to terminate our relationship with you.&#8217; No other explanation was offered and honestly no other explanation was needed. It was obvious what happened.”
Later during his show, Tucker stated that the company had reached out during a commercial break and provided a statement saying that Melissa Rolfe had been fired over social media posts, to which Carlson responded on air: “The bottom line is, it seems pretty clear they fired this woman because of who her step son was. And just to restate the obvious, that shouldn’t happen in this country because it’s wrong and people should say it’s wrong, or it will continue to keep happening.”
Equity Prime Mortgage later posted a second statement on their Twitter account:
<blockquote>As an employer, it is imperative to maintain a safe environment for all employees. Melissa Rolfe&#8217;s termination was a direct result of her actions in the workplace and violation of company policy. While working with Melissa as she transitioned to a leave of absence granted by our organization, we discovered she violated company policy and created an uncomfortable working environment for many of our employees. As an HR director, she ultimately lost the confidence of her peers, leadership, and many employees who no longer felt comfortable engaging with her. We value diversity of thought and respect Melissa&#8217;s personal views and the views of all employees; however, when those create a hostile working environment, we must make difficult decisions to part ways.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://t.co/vnQsDZxGoD">pic.twitter.com/vnQsDZxGoD</a>
&mdash; Equity Prime Mortgage LLC (@Equity_Prime) <a href="https://twitter.com/Equity_Prime/status/1273817345979559936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The second statement from the company comes after they posted a statement prior to Carlson&#8217;s segment that appeared to allude to their termination of Melissa Rolfe, but did not use her name. The company&#8217;s original <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tucker-carlson-stepmother-of-police-officer-charged-in-rayshard-brooks-shooting-fired-from-her-job-company-releases-statement">statement</a> said:
<blockquote>Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion are deeply entrenched in the principles that help guide the actions of our organization. Our 23 fundamental principles comprise The EPM Way and the first one is, “Do the right thing, always.”
Our unwavering commitment to always doing the right thing has led us to sever ties with an employee who has expressed views that do not align with our culture. We do not tolerate racism, discrimination or injustices of any kind. EPM was co-founded by people of color intent on building a better future the best way they knew how, by bringing diverse cultures into the conversation. We view business through an empathetic lens. We care about the communities we serve and the people we employ.
We have intentionally built a team that is reflective of the U.S. population. Not only do we make a concerted effort to ensure Black people are in positions of authority, but we have recently increased overall diversity within our management from 68% to 80%, and we are nowhere near finished.
We are dedicated to building wealth in communities of color that have historically suffered from systemic racism. We recognize the roadblocks these communities face and have and will continue to honor our commitment to removing them. Our efforts have significantly increased loans to Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Veterans to enrich their communities.
We owe our successes to our employees who listen generously, speak courageously, and choose positivity. Representation matters, and so do Black Lives. Known to many as Equity Prime Mortgage externally, we thrive by the principle of Empowering People More. We will continue to be a resource and voice to financially empower those we serve and strive to guarantee diversity every step of the way.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Garrett Rolfe

Company That Terminated Stepmother Of Atlanta Police Officer Releases New Statement On Her Termination

Rayshard Brooks

While performing CPR, former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe begged for Rayshard Brooks to &#8220;keep breathing,&#8221; body camera footage reveals.
&#8220;Mr. Brooks, keep breathing,&#8221; Rolfe, 27, can be heard saying in the footage. &#8220;Keep breathing for me.&#8221;
&#8220;The jerky body-cam footage captures him kneeling on the ground and administering CPR to the bleeding man while Brosnan looks on,&#8221; reports the Daily Mail, which published the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8429013/Fired-officer-shot-Rayshard-Brooks-dead-begged-father-four-stay-alive-gave-CPR.html">footage</a>. &#8220;Rolfe administered CPR until the ambulance arrived and can be heard repeatedly calling Mr. Brooks&#8217; name as he tried to keep him alive.&#8221;
On Friday, a Wendy’s employee called the police after Brooks, under the influence of alcohol, passed out behind the wheel, blocking drive-through traffic.
“The officers ran Brooks through a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer that pegged Brooks’ blood alcohol concentration at .108%, according to body cam footage released by the Atlanta police department. The legal limit to drive is .08%,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-atlanta-officer-charged-with-felony-murder-in-shooting-of-rayshard-brooks">The Daily Wire</a> reported on the incident. “After cooperating for nearly half an hour, Brooks <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-police-body-cam-footage-challenges-narrative-on-death-of-rayshard-brooks">fought</a> with the officers as they tried to place him in handcuffs. All three struggled and fell to the ground where Brooks managed to take Brosnan’s taser and escape the officers. Rolfe shot after Brooks fired the stolen taser at him.”
Rolfe was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-atlanta-officer-charged-with-felony-murder-in-shooting-of-rayshard-brooks">charged</a> Wednesday with felony murder.
A close friend of Rolfe&#8217;s said the former officer did not want to shoot Brooks but felt no other choice to preserve his own life.
&#8220;Garrett didn&#8217;t want to do it,&#8221; said the friend, according to the Daily Mail. &#8220;He had been punched and was dazed. Brooks had gone to tase him and he said that he knew that if he went down Brooks might kill him.&#8221;
&#8220;[Rolfe] told me he fired a shot up above [Brooks&#8217;] head but he didn&#8217;t stop and so he fired twice more,&#8221; the source added, &#8220;He didn&#8217;t want to do it. There&#8217;s no hate in Garrett&#8217;s body. He doesn&#8217;t hate black. He doesn&#8217;t hate white. In that moment he was in fear for his life.&#8221;
Following the announcement of the highly controversial felony murder charge, Rolfe’s attorney said in a <a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/da-paul-howard-expected-make-announcement-possible-charges-rayshard-brooks-shooting/EZ5T5RIXTRHO3O5LYBX6W3VN5U/">statement</a>: “Officer Rolfe is well known to the courts and there is no compelling reason to bring any charges against them before the GBI has completed its investigation and published its findings.&#8221;
In a separate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorney-for-officer-devin-brosnan-debunks-claims-client-is-state-witness-unloads-on-d-a-paul-howard">statement</a>, the attorney for Devin Brosnan, Rolfe’s partner, ripped Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard for the “rush to misjudgment.”
“The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice,” the attorney said in a blistering rebuke of the DA. “This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-officer-charged-with-felony-murder-in-rayshard-brooks-shooting-responds-through-legal-team">READ IT: Officer Charged With Felony Murder In Rayshard Brooks Shooting Responds Through Legal Team</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Body-Cam Footage: Officer Who Shot Brooks Begs Him To Stay Alive: ‘Mr. Brooks Keep Breathing. Keep Breathing For Me’

In a social media post on Wednesday, conservative commentator Candace Owens again hammered the issue of media coverage and public portrayal of high-profile police-involved deaths. George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, both of whom died during an encounter with police, Owens highlighted, were arrested for illegal activity and after amassing long criminal records. The downplaying of their records and actions prompting their arrests, Owens stated, is effectively &#8220;sanctifying criminals.&#8221;
&#8220;George Floyd: high on fentanyl and trying to use a counterfeit bill after 9 prison stints,&#8221; Owens tweeted Wednesday to her 2.4 million followers.  &#8220;Rayshard Brooks: drunk-driving while on probation for beating his wife [and] kids.&#8221;
&#8220;Why don’t you COWARDS stop pretending these people were changing their lives?&#8221; Owens added. &#8220;STOP SANCTIFYING CRIMINALS.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
George Floyd: high on fentanyl and trying to use a counterfeit bill after 9 prison stints.
Rayshard Brooks: drunk-driving while on probation for beating his wife &amp; kids.
Why don’t you COWARDS stop pretending these people were changing their lives? 
STOP SANCTIFYING CRIMINALS.
&mdash; Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1273364982189756423?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Owens&#8217; tweet follows her recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/candace-owens-i-do-not-support-george-floyd-and-the-media-depiction-of-him-as-a-martyr-for-black-america">viral Facebook video</a> in which she highlighted Floyd&#8217;s criminal record, particularly a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/29/george-floyd-who-was-he-his-friends-words">2007 armed robbery</a> of a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8366533/George-Floyd-moved-Minneapolis-start-new-life-released-prison-Texas.html">woman’s home</a> in Houston, for which Floyd was convicted in 2009 and served five years in prison. Owens states in the video that while the media has widely described Floyd as having “<a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/victim-police-encounter-had-started-new-life-minnesota/rMmT2wipeQFNnsypmh6oBL/">started a new life</a>” since being released from prison, his actions and condition when he was arrested suggest otherwise, as he attempted to use a counterfeit bill and had drugs in his system, as revealed by autopsies.
Brooks was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-atlanta-officer-charged-with-felony-murder-in-shooting-of-rayshard-brooks">fatally shot</a> by an Atlanta police officer after he resisted arrest, seized a taser from one of the responding officers, and fired that taser in the direction of the pursuing officer. Body-cam footage shows that the officers attempted to arrest Brooks after a breathalyzer pegged his blood alcohol level at far above the legal limit.
According to Clayton County, Georgia, <a href="https://www.claytoncountyga.gov/government/courts/court-case-inquiry">court records</a>, Brooks was charged with a number of crimes between 2011 and 2016 and convicted in 2014 on <a href="https://editorial.dailywire.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=121426&amp;action=edit">multiple counts</a>, including false imprisonment, simple battery/family, and felony cruelty/cruelty to children. In 2016, he was charged with financial transaction card theft.
In her viral <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/candace-owens-i-do-not-support-george-floyd-and-the-media-depiction-of-him-as-a-martyr-for-black-america">video on Floyd</a>, Owens strongly condemns former Officer Derek Chauvin’s actions, which included kneeling on Floyd&#8217;s neck for nearly nine minutes, and states that Floyd&#8217;s family “deserves justice for the way that he died.” However, the commentator pushes back on the portrayals of Floyd as a &#8220;martyr&#8221; for the black community, stating she is &#8220;not going to accept the narrative that this is the best the black community has to offer.&#8221;
“For whatever reason it has become fashionable over the last five or six years for us to turn criminals into heroes overnight, and it is something that I find to be despicable and there’s something that I refuse to stand by any longer and I am not going to play a part in it — no matter how much pressure comes from black liberals and black conservatives as some token of people wanting you to believe that this is the only way you can be black,” Owens says.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rayshard-brooks-discusses-the-struggles-of-life-on-probation-in-february-interview">WATCH: Rayshard Brooks Discusses The Struggles Of Life On Probation In February Interview</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Candace Owens

Candace Owens Slams Coverage Of Floyd, Brooks: ‘Stop Sanctifying Criminals’

George Floyd

After Quaker Oats announced it would be removing Aunt Jemima from its 133-year-old brand of syrup and pancake mix, the company that makes Cream of Wheat says it is beginning a review of its brand and packaging, which features a black chef holding up a piping hot bowl of cereal.
&#8220;B&amp;G Foods, Inc. today announced that we are initiating an immediate review of the Cream of Wheat brand packaging,&#8221; the company said in a statement Wednesday. &#8220;We understand there are concerns regarding the Chef image, and we are committed to evaluating our packaging and will proactively take steps to ensure that we and our brands do not inadvertently contribute to systemic racism.&#8221;
Meanwhile, the company that makes Uncle Ben’s rice said Wednesday that &#8220;now was the right time to evolve&#8221; the brand. Their package features an elderly black man in a tuxedo next to its trademark saying, &#8220;Perfect Every Time.&#8221;
Mars Inc., the parent company of Uncle Ben&#8217;s, said in a release that as a global brand, &#8220;we know we have a responsibility to take a stand in helping to put an end to racial bias and injustices.&#8221;
“Racism has no place in society. We stand in solidarity with the Black community, our Associates and our partners in the fight for social justice,” Mars said. “We know to make the systemic change needed, it’s going to take a collective effort from all of us — individuals, communities and organizations of all sizes around the world.”
Uncle Ben’s was founded as Converted Brand Rice by Erich Huzenlaub and Gordon Harwell, according to the company&#8217;s website. The name “Uncle Ben’s” was born in the 1940s after the founders found out about a famed Texas farmer, referred to as Uncle Ben, who was renowned for his rice.
For the box&#8217;s cover, the image was modeled after Frank Brown, a waiter at the Chicago restaurant where Harwell had the idea, the website says.
The brand changes come after riots raged across the country following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25.
Also on Wednesday, Quaker Oats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/quaker-oats-announces-it-is-changing-name-of-aunt-jemima-due-to-racial-stereotype">announced</a> that Aunt Jemima, its 131-year-old syrup, will be renamed and rebranded amid complaints that the syrup brand is based on a “racial stereotype.”
&#8220;As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers’ expectations,&#8221; Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, said in a press release.
&#8220;We recognize Aunt Jemima’s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.
&#8220;We acknowledge the brand has not progressed enough to appropriately reflect the confidence, warmth and dignity that we would like it to stand for today. We are starting by removing the image and changing the name. We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand and make it one everyone can be proud to have in their pantry,&#8221; Kroepfl said.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">member</a>.

jemima (3)

Uncle Ben’s Rice To Take Black Man Off Box; Cream Of Wheat Mulls Removing Black Chef

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe, involved in the shooting of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy&#8217;s parking lot last week, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-atlanta-officer-charged-with-felony-murder-in-shooting-of-rayshard-brooks">charged</a> with felony murder on Wednesday. On Thursday, Rolfe&#8217;s legal team released a statement defending his &#8220;justified&#8221; actions.
&#8220;Rolfe is facing 11 counts, including felony murder and assault with a deadly weapon,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-former-atlanta-officer-charged-with-felony-murder-in-shooting-of-rayshard-brooks">The Daily Wire</a> reported Wednesday evening, adding that Devin Brosnan, Rolfe&#8217;s partner, has been placed on administrative leave and is facing three charges.
The incident on Friday started when a Wendy&#8217;s employee called the police after Brooks, under the influence of alcohol, passed out behind the wheel, blocking drive-through traffic.
&#8220;The officers ran Brooks through a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer that pegged Brooks’ blood alcohol concentration at .108%, according to body cam footage released by the Atlanta police department. The legal limit to drive is .08%,&#8221; The Daily Wire noted. &#8220;After cooperating for nearly half an hour, Brooks <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-police-body-cam-footage-challenges-narrative-on-death-of-rayshard-brooks">fought</a> with the officers as they tried to place him in handcuffs. All three struggled and fell to the ground where Brooks managed to take Brosnan’s taser and escape the officers. Rolfe shot after Brooks fired the stolen taser at him.&#8221;
&#8220;Officer Rolfe is well known to the courts and there is no compelling reason to bring any charges against them before the GBI has completed its investigation and published its findings,&#8221; Rolfe&#8217;s attorney said in a <a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/da-paul-howard-expected-make-announcement-possible-charges-rayshard-brooks-shooting/EZ5T5RIXTRHO3O5LYBX6W3VN5U/">statement</a> following the felony murder charge.
In a separate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorney-for-officer-devin-brosnan-debunks-claims-client-is-state-witness-unloads-on-d-a-paul-howard">statement</a>, Brosnan&#8217;s attorney ripped Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard for the &#8220;rush to misjudgment.&#8221;
“The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice,” the attorney said in a blistering rebuke of the DA. “This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment.”
Ahead of the announced charges from DA Howard, the LoRusso Law Firm, which is representing Rolfe, released a lengthy statement dissecting the Friday incident and their client&#8217;s &#8220;justified&#8221; actions.
&#8220;On June 12, 2020, a Wendy’s employee called 911 to report a man was passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle and blocking traffic in the drive-through,&#8221; the statement begins, as reported by <a href="https://www.cbs46.com/news/lawyers-for-former-apd-officer-involved-in-rayshard-brooks-shooting-release-statement/article_c3a6ae8e-b0c5-11ea-bb7b-5f2794513af0.html">CBS46</a>. &#8220;Officer Brosnan responded, and made contact with the driver, Rayshard Brooks. After determining alcohol may have been a contributing factor, he requested Officer Rolfe’s assistance.&#8221;
&#8220;Officer Rolfe, a member of the High Intensity Traffic Team and the Governor funded HEAT Unit, has specialized training in DUI investigations,&#8221; the statement continues. &#8220;He has made at least 300 DUI arrests, and completed the 160-hour Drug Recognition Expert course, graduating as valedictorian. After a thorough investigation, Officer Rolfe determined Mr. Brooks was impaired and driving a vehicle in violation of Georgia law. Officer Rolfe was polite and courteous to Mr. Brooks during the entire encounter. Mr. Brooks was polite and cooperative until Officer Rolfe placed him under arrest.&#8221;
Then, according to Rolfe&#8217;s attorneys, Brooks became hostile &#8220;without warning or provocation,&#8221; physically assaulting the officers until Rolfe &#8220;lawfully deployed his TASER twice, but it had no effect on Mr. Brooks&#8221;:
<blockquote>Suddenly, without warning or provocation, Mr. Brooks chose to violently attack two uniformed police officers. Officers Brosnan and Rolfe used the least amount of force possible in their attempts to place Mr. Brooks into handcuffs. They attempted to leverage him to the ground while giving him loud, clear verbal commands. In response, Mr. Brooks continued actively resisting lawful efforts to arrest him. He then escalated his resistance by punching Officer Rolfe in the face committing several counts of felony obstruction of an officer. See O.C.G.A. §16-10-24. In an effort to place Mr. Brooks under arrest and stop his assault, Officer Rolfe lawfully deployed his TASER twice, but it had no effect on Mr. Brooks.</blockquote>
&#8220;Mr. Brooks continued his assault and disarmed Officer Brosnan, stealing his city-issued TASER committing a robbery, another forcible felony under Georgia law,&#8221; the law firm notes. &#8220;See O.C.G.A. §16-8-40 &amp; O.C.G.A. §16-10-33 . Mr. Brooks, then armed, began running through a crowded parking lot. Mr. Brooks was lawfully under arrest and Officer Rolfe pursued him. Officer Rolfe had deployed his taser and held it steady in hopes the prongs would catch onto Mr. Brooks body and neutralize him. Unfortunately, that didn’t occur.&#8221;
&#8220;Instead of merely trying to escape, Mr. Brooks reached back with his arm extended and pointed an object at Officer Rolfe,&#8221; the statement reads. &#8220;Officer Rolfe heard a sound like a gunshot and saw a flash in front of him. Fearing for his safety, and the safety of the civilians around him, Officer Rolfe dropped his taser and fired his service weapon at the only portion of Mr. Brooks that presented to him &#8211; Mr. Brooks’ back. Officer Rolfe immediately stopped firing when Mr. Brooks fell to the ground since there was no longer an imminent threat towards Officer Rolfe or others.&#8221;
&#8220;Officer Rolfe gathered himself, and then immediately called for EMS,&#8221; the legal representation continues. &#8220;Officer Rolfe retrieved first-aid supplies and began rendering aid to Mr. Brooks. When Mr. Brooks’ pulse stopped, Officer Rolfe immediately began CPR until EMS relieved him.&#8221;
&#8220;The loss of life in any instance is tragic,&#8221; Rolfe&#8217;s lawyers emphasize. &#8220;However, Officer Rolfe’s actions were justified under O.C.G.A. §17-4-20 and O.C.G.A. §16-3-21.&#8221;
&#8220;A peace officer may use deadly force to 1. arrest a suspected felon when he reasonably believes that the suspect poses an immediate threat of physical violence to the officer or others, 2. to protect himself and others from a life-threatening injury, and 3. to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. Mr. Brooks violently attacked two officers and disarmed one of them. When Mr. Brooks turned and pointed an object at Officer Rolfe, any officer would have reasonably believed that he intended to disarm, disable, or seriously injure him.&#8221;
The statement concludes: &#8220;Officer Rolfe is well known to the courts and there is no compelling reason to bring any charges against them before the GBI has completed its investigation and published its findings.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

READ IT: Officer Charged With Felony Murder In Rayshard Brooks Shooting Responds Through Legal Team

Police officers in the Atlanta Police Department are reportedly not responding to calls in multiple zones which comes after the department acknowledged that they were experiencing a higher than usual number of police officers calling out prior to the start of their shifts.
The news comes after Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced felony murder charges against officer Garrett Rolfe on Wednesday for his involvement in the death of Rayshard Brooks, who was driving drunk, resisted arrest, got into a physical altercation with police, took a taser from a police officer, tried to run, and fired a taser in Rolfe&#8217;s direction. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgia-bureau-of-investigation-responds-to-d-a-s-charges-we-werent-consulted-investigation-not-over">said</a> that its investigation into the incident was not complete when the charges were announced and that it was not consulted by Howard.
&#8220;Atlanta police officers are not responding to calls in three of the department&#8217;s six zones,&#8221; CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/us/rayshard-brooks-atlanta-police-not-answering-calls/index.html">reported</a>, citing multiple sources within the Atlanta Police Department. &#8220;Atlanta police officers each patrol one of six zones covering some 500,000 residents who live in the city limits. They also cover Atlanta&#8217;s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.&#8221;
Brendan Keefe, Chief Investigator at Atlanta&#8217;s WXIA 11Alive, wrote on Twitter: &#8220;I&#8217;ve been listening to Zone 6 Atlanta Police radio traffic for the last hour. There are 15 &#8211; 20 minute periods of absolute silence amid reports of officer walkouts. This clip was shared with [Cheryl Preheim] by a police source. It&#8217;s from Zone 3. The code 69 is Person With a Gun.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I&#39;ve been listening to Zone 6 Atlanta Police radio traffic for the last hour. There are 15 &#8211; 20 minute periods of absolute silence amid reports of officer walkouts. This clip was shared with <a href="https://twitter.com/CherylPreheim?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CherylPreheim</a> by a police source. It&#39;s from Zone 3. The code 69 is Person With a Gun. <a href="https://t.co/hkmbC5VF0Q">pic.twitter.com/hkmbC5VF0Q</a>
&mdash; Brendan Keefe (@BrendanKeefe) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendanKeefe/status/1273439297471946752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Atlanta Police Department released a statement on Wednesday to address widespread rumors that were circulating on social media that numerous officers were walking off the job.
APD tweeted: “Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations [and] remain able to respond to incidents.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations &amp; remain able to respond to incidents.
&mdash; Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) <a href="https://twitter.com/Atlanta_Police/status/1273415926872969216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Atlanta Democrat Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-atlanta-police-seeing-higher-than-usual-number-of-call-outs-comes-after-d-a-charged-police-officer-with-murder-of-rayshard-brooks">responded</a> to the situation during a CNN interview on Wednesday evening, saying that it &#8220;has been a very tough few weeks in Atlanta.&#8221;
“Across the country, morale is down with police departments, and I think ours is down ten-fold,&#8221; Bottoms said. “And so what I would say is, in the same way our administration’s made that commitment to our officers, we expect our officers will keep their commitment to our communities.”
Bottoms, who is reportedly in the running to be a vice presidential candidate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, said that she did not know how many officers called out but assured residents that they had enough officers to keep the streets safe.
Bottoms said, “But it’s just my hope again that our officers will remember the commitment that they made when they held up their hand and they were sworn in as police officers.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Civil Rights Leader Rev. Joseph E. Lowery Laid To Rest In Atlanta

Atlanta Police Officers Not Responding To Calls In Multiple Zones, Comes After D.A. Charged Officer With Murder In Rayshard Brooks Case

On Tuesday, a black Georgia sheriff told CNN anchor Brianna Keilar that Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe was &#8220;<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/sheriff-alfonzo-williams-rayshard-brooks-shooting-justified">completely justified</a>&#8221; to use lethal force against Rayshard Brooks, who was shot and killed after resisting arrest and grabbing a taser from an officer at the scene.
Keilar started, “The family attorney in this case says that police should have tried to catch Brooks instead of shooting at him. What is your reaction to that?”
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams responded, “Having 30 years in the business, police and law enforcement, and 27 of those years having taught use of force and taught hundreds and hundreds of law enforcement officers across the state of Georgia and other states, I just think that he&#8217;s a lawyer, he&#8217;s not a law enforcement officer. I think that is — it&#8217;s just a ridiculous statement.”
He continued, &#8220;Obviously, we saw in the video that the — Brooks was engaged in a fight with the officers. They were on the ground. We know that when we&#8217;re on the ground, we have a very high likelihood of being hurt or killed. It&#8217;s not the place we want to be. This is not a wrestling match. Brooks is able to take a nonlethal weapon, a taser, away from one of the officers, and he flees, they give chase. He&#8217;s committed two felony obstruction of an officer counts, and he needs to be held accountable. So they were perfectly justified in running behind Brooks to capture him.”
Williams noted, “Brooks turned back to the officers, and fired the taser. And we all know — this is the third law enforcement agency I&#8217;ve been head of, and every agency I&#8217;ve gone to, I&#8217;ve required every officer who carries a taser, to be tased with it so that you understand the incapacitation.”
He explained, “Five seconds: one thousand-one, one thousand-two, one thousand-three, one thousand-four, one thousand-five. That&#8217;s five whole seconds that, if an officer is hit with that taser, that he — all of his muscles will be locked up and he&#8217;ll have the inability to move and to respond. And yet he is still responsible for every weapon on his belt. So if that officer had been hit, he still has a firearm on his side. And the likelihood of him being stomped in the head or having his firearm taken and used against him was a probability. And so he did what he needed to do, and this was a completely justified shooting.”
Keilar asked, “So you think lethal force here was necessary?”
&#8220;It&#8217;s very necessary,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;The Fourth Amendment allows it. This is the objective reasonableness standard, and there&#8217;s nothing malicious or sadistic in the way these officers behaved.&#8221;
Then he took a shot at law enforcement leaders in Georgia: “And it&#8217;s very unfortunate that the law enforcement leaders in the state of Georgia have not come out and stood together on this case. I think it&#8217;s political and it&#8217;s senseless. We&#8217;re sending the wrong message to our black youth, we&#8217;re telling them that it&#8217;s OK, that they can run from the police, they can take a weapon from the police, they can fight with the police. And point a weapon at the police, and expect nothing to happen. That is the wrong message to send to black youth.”
Keilar then tried to turn the death of Brooks into a racial issue: “Can I ask — I want to ask you a question about the Rayshard Brooks case, early on, once he was on the ground. One of the things that struck me, observing — and you know, you&#8217;re in law enforcement, I&#8217;m not, but — was how quickly at close range one of the officers pulled a taser out. And it seemed like his arm was flailing, and then he sort of got tangled and grabbed the taser.  And I — one of the questions I had was, do you think that that officer would have pulled a taser so quickly on a suspect if they were white?”
Williams answered, “I think we have a serious issue in this country with officers, law enforcement officers using force against black persons or persons of color versus other persons. I&#8217;m not sure exactly why that exists. I think it&#8217;s based on your experiences, based on your ignorance, based on your — whether or not you&#8217;re learned, based on movies, television, media.  You know, there&#8217;s a little bit of blame to go around with all of us. That&#8217;s why I have proposed setting standards —”
Keilar interjected, “Sheriff. You&#8217;re — it sounds like you don&#8217;t know, like — it sounds like you are saying perhaps, there could be a possibility that maybe — that escalation to the use of the taser might not have happened then, if it were a white man?”
Williams immediately shut that down, saying, “I&#8217;m not saying that at all. I&#8217;m saying what happened in the Brooks case is completely justified, 100 percent. And an officer generally goes to work every day, he&#8217;s not concerned about whether a perpetrator is black or white. He&#8217;s there to do a job. He was called there by the employees of Wendy&#8217;s because the guy is passed out at the wheel. And he&#8217;s investigated for being under the influence of something, but he is less safe to drive. And they conduct field sobriety. And all officers know this, Brianna, that when one cuff goes on, a person is going to do one of three things. He&#8217;s going to fight, take flight, or he&#8217;s going to comply. In this case, he did fight and flight. And we — they&#8217;re taught in the academy that you arrest or you handcuff quickly, one to two seconds. If not, your life is in jeopardy. And that played out in this scenario.”
He concluded, “We don&#8217;t want to fight with anybody; we don&#8217;t want to be on the ground. The suspect had the ability to hurt the officer, he had the opportunity to hurt the officer because he took his taser. The officer&#8217;s life was certainly in jeopardy, and the suspect could have complied and none of this would have happened.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Burke County, Georgia, Sheriff Alfonzo Williams says the shooting of Rayshard Brooks was “completely justified.” “There&#39;s nothing malicious or sadistic in the way these officers behaved,” he says, adding that this case can&#39;t be compared to those of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. <a href="https://t.co/Px6hwdffZN">pic.twitter.com/Px6hwdffZN</a>
&mdash; CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/1272958183540219905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Close of gavel in courtroom

WATCH: Black Georgia Sheriff Tells CNN: Shooting Of Rayshard Brooks Was ‘Completely Justified’

Georgia

Don Samuel, attorney for Atlanta Police officer Devin Brosnan, debunked reports on Wednesday that his client had agreed to become a state witness and slammed Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard for his actions in the case.
&#8220;District Attorney Paul Howard said he is charging former Officer Garrett Rolfe with 11 counts, including felony murder and aggravated assault, criminal damage to property and violations to his oath of office,&#8221; WSB-TV <a href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/da-paul-howard-expected-make-announcement-possible-charges-rayshard-brooks-shooting/EZ5T5RIXTRHO3O5LYBX6W3VN5U/">reported</a>. &#8220;Officer Devin Brosnan is being charged with aggravated assault and two violations of oath of office.&#8221;
Amid reports that Brosnan was acting as a state&#8217;s witness, his attorney released a statement detailing his role in the Rayshard Brooks case and emphatically stating that he &#8220;has NOT agreed to be a &#8216;state&#8217;s witness&#8217;.&#8221; He also issued a scathing rebuke of Howard&#8217;s &#8220;rush to misjudgment.&#8221; Samuel&#8217;s statement reads in part:
<blockquote>To be clear &#8211; Devin is cooperating with the Fulton County District Attorney’s investigation. He met with the assistant district attorney and investigator yesterday and answered their questions. He turned over his phone. He is in the process of providing medical records and photographs of his injuries. He has NOT agreed to be a “state’s witness” or to testify in any court hearing or to plead guilty to any charge. The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice.
This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment. Shame on the District Attorney for this abuse of his charging power. Shame on the District Attorney for not honoring his oath to uphold the constitution. Shame on the District Attorney for this rush to misjudgment.</blockquote>
Samuel also said in the statement that Brooks &#8220;used&#8221; the taser that he took from Brosnan against the officer as he resisted arrest and later ran from the scene. Samuel notes that Brosnan sustained &#8220;burns from the taser.&#8221; Samuel states that when Brooks began to violently resist arrest, Brosnan&#8217;s head hit the asphalt parking lot, and he was later &#8220;diagnosed with a concussion.&#8221;
In an interview with CNN, Samuel said, &#8220;Officer Brosnan has not agreed to testify. He has not agreed to plead guilty. He honestly told the DA’s office everything that happened during a lengthy interview yesterday. He will continue to tell the DA or the GBI, or any other investigator what happened. But he is absolutely not guilty of any crime and will not plead guilty and has not agreed to be a ‘state’s witness.’”
&#8220;The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice,&#8221; Samuel said in an apparent reference to the politically charged atmosphere surrounding current law enforcement matters. &#8220;This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment.&#8221;
Samuel&#8217;s statement comes after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday that its investigation into the incident was not over and that it was not consulted about the charges.
Attorney Don Samuel&#8217;s full statement regarding his client, officer Devin Brosnan:
<blockquote>“Devin Brosnan first wants to extend his condolences to the family of Rayshard Brooks. To his parents, his wife, his children, his extended family, his friends. It is clear that Mr. Brooks was greatly loved by many people.
“When Devin initially responded to the scene he thought that Mr. Brooks had had a long day or possibly had a medical condition. As he responded to the call he did not, at the time, have any intention of arresting Mr. Brooks. Devin’s only intention was to investigate and get further information about the situation. During his encounter with Mr. Brooks, Devin treated him with respect, dignity, and concern for Mr. Brooks’s safety as well as the safety of the people nearby.
“At the beginning of Devin’s interaction with Rayshard Brooks, Mr. Brooks was polite and affable. Mr. Brooks appeared to be impaired – either from a medical condition or possibly from alcohol. That is why Devin called for an officer specially trained in roadside evaluation to respond to the scene. Once the other officer responded – Officer Rolfe – it became Rolfe’s investigation. Devin was there to standby, to observe and assist if necessary. During Rolfe’s investigation it was apparent that Mr. Brooks was impaired; he was disoriented as to place and had trouble following Officer Rolfe’s questions.
“Various videos from that evening have been widely circulated. Devin did not know that Officer Rolfe was going to arrest Mr. Brooks; Officer Rolfe did not communicate that to Devin verbally or otherwise. When Devin saw Officer Rolfe bring Mr. Brooks’s hands behind his back, Devin followed his training and moved in to assist Officer Rolfe. At that time, a struggle between Mr. Brooks and the officers started.
“During that struggle, Devin pulled out his taser and warned Mr. Brooks to stop resisting or he would be tased. Devin never actually deployed his taser. Instead, Mr. Brooks took his taser from him and Mr. Brooks used it against Devin. Devin hit his head hard on the asphalt parking lot. He later received medical treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion at Grady. Devin also has burns from the taser, and other injuries. To be clear, at no time did Devin pull out his firearm.
“After Mr. Brooks ran away, with Officer Rolfe in pursuit, Devin got up and followed. You can tell from the video that he is limping. What you can’t tell is that he was disoriented from the head injury. After Mr. Brooks was shot, Devin ran to the location where Mr. Brooks had fallen. Within a minute – less than a minute – Rolfe runs back to his car to get medical equipment, at the same time another officer arrives on scene. You can see on the video – at time stamp 23:24:59 – the officers tried to stabilize Mr. Brooks and gave first aid. Devin did what he could to save Mr. Brooks.
“To be clear &#8211; Devin is cooperating with the Fulton County District Attorney’s investigation. He met with the assistant district attorney and investigator yesterday and answered their questions. He turned over his phone. He is in the process of providing medical records and photographs of his injuries. He has NOT agreed to be a “state’s witness” or to testify in any court hearing or to plead guilty to any charge. The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice.
“This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment. Shame on the District Attorney for this abuse of his charging power. Shame on the District Attorney for not honoring his oath to uphold the constitution. Shame on the District Attorney for this rush to misjudgment.”</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Fulton County DA Announces Decision On Charges In Shooting Of Rayshard Brooks

Attorney For Officer Devin Brosnan Debunks Claim Client Is State Witness, Unloads On D.A. Paul Howard

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation responded to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard&#8217;s press conference on Wednesday — in which he announced criminal charges against the two officers who were involved in the recent incident involving the death of Rayshard Brooks — by stating that they were not notified that it was going to happen and that the investigation was not over.
&#8220;The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was requested by the Atlanta Police Department on Friday night, June 12th, to investigate an officer involved shooting at the Wendy’s Restaurant on University Avenue. We are in the process of conducting this investigation,&#8221; the bureau said in a statement. &#8220;Although we have made significant progress in the case, we have not completed our work. Our goal in every officer involved shooting case we are requested to review, is to complete a thorough, impartial investigation before we submit the file to the respective District Attorney’s Office.&#8221;
&#8220;The GBI was not aware of today’s press conference before it was conducted,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;We were not consulted on the charges filed by the District Attorney. Despite today’s occurrence, the GBI will complete its mission of completing an impartial and thorough investigation of this incident and we will submit the file, once completed, to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.&#8221;
GBI&#8217;s statement regarding Howard&#8217;s decision to announce charges against the two officers comes as Howard is facing an election runoff, is reportedly under criminal investigation, and has been <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/administrator-alleges-paul-howard-sexually-harassed-her/LbsYvyiyUWgbCJxW1xQexO/">repeatedly</a> accused of <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/fulton-slapped-with-another-harassment-lawsuit/vuEoikax2eiBbC4OlNLP4L/">sexual harassment</a>. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/gbi-opens-probe-fulton-paul-howard-over-use-nonprofit-funds/cgSq6UgzmHbCfGNJcxMJ6O/">reported</a> in early May:
<blockquote>The GBI has opened an investigation of Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard and his use of a nonprofit to funnel at least $140,000 in city of Atlanta funds to supplement his salary, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News have learned.
The criminal investigation comes at a time when Howard, Fulton’s DA since 1997, is being challenged in the Democratic primary for reelection and is facing allegations of sexual harassment, which he strongly denies. [&#8230;]
Howard is also facing a state ethics complaint for not disclosing he was a chief executive of the nonprofit, People Partnering for Progress, in personal financial statements. On April 15, the Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission charged Howard with a dozen disclosure violations, most of them involving PPP.</blockquote>
Howard announced during a press conference on Wednesday that Officer Garrett Rolfe was facing 11 charges, including felony murder, for his alleged involvement in the death of Brooks. Howard also announced that the other police officer on scene, Devin Brosnan, was facing three charges, including aggravated assault and violation of oath.
Howard said, “We have concluded at the time Mr. Brooks was shot that he did not pose an immediate threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or officers.” Howard later acknowledged that as Brooks was resisting arrest and running from the police that he took a taser from one of the officers and fired it at Rolfe.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Howard <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/da-says-brooks-wasnt-threat-toward-cop-he-shot-taser-at-said-two-weeks-ago-taser-is-considered-a-deadly-weapon">announced</a> charges against a police officer who pointed a taser at a person because a taser was considered to be a deadly weapon under Georgia law.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

US-racism-police-JUSTICE

Georgia Bureau Of Investigation Responds To D.A.’s Charges: We Weren’t Consulted, Investigation Not Over

Netflix remains the 800 lb. gorilla in the streaming universe even with heavy hitters like HBO Max and Disney+ entering the scene. The streaming giant is still acting like a nervous startup afraid of the PC Police.
In the last few days Netflix pulled down <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/netflix-bbc-pull-little-britain-come-fly-with-me-blackface">two British TV shows</a> featuring problematic materials, including characters in blackface. And it wasn’t done yet.
The streaming giant just <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/netflix-pulls-w-bob-and-david-episode-over-david-cross-blackface-sketch/">yanked a 2015 episode</a> of “W/Bob and David” because one of the sketch show’s leads appeared in blackface.
David Cross’s character in the episode darkened his skin, a measure made to illustrate how police allegedly train their rage on black, not white, Americans.
Cross tried to explain the setup, which included black actor Keegan-Michael Key as part of the bit.
“Hey all, Netflix is going to pull this sketch from ‘With Bob &amp; David’ because the ridiculous, foolish character I play puts on ‘black face’ at one point,” Cross wrote in the tweet. “The point of this was to underscore the absurdity…well, here’s your last chance to figure it out.”
Co-star Bob Odenkirk rallied to the segment’s side on Twitter, too.
“[W]e considered every choice we made doing our show, and always aimed to make you laugh and think, and never make an obvious or easy point&#8230;that very much includes this sketch,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Our comedy is always about the human element, never about making a political point.”
Actually, the sketch in question makes a cultural point that overlaps into the political realm, now more than ever. Still, it’s almost quaint to see the artists trying to explain their art to Cancel Culture types.
Haven’t they been paying attention for the past five years … or even five weeks? Nuance, context and other vital elements aren’t considered when the social justice warriors wield their pitch forks.
One amazing element of Cancel Culture’s ascent is how major media outlets directly or indirectly cheer it on.
Here’s The A.V. Club, the far-left entertainment wing of The Onion, <a href="https://news.avclub.com/netflix-removes-episode-of-w-bob-david-featuring-bla-1844067352">doing the former</a>.
<blockquote>Cross’ flippant response is disappointing, though not entirely unexpected. In 2017, fellow comedian Charlyne Yi <a href="https://www.avclub.com/david-cross-says-his-charlene-yi-comments-were-from-as-1819680891">accused Cross</a> of making racist comments toward her and mocking her Asian heritage. Cross responded by suggesting that both himself and Yi might be “misremembering” the event…. 
Odenkirk’s response similarly misses the point … a sketch about the police, particularly one invoking police harassment/brutality, and especially one that involves an ignorant white man donning Blackface to make a point, is political, period. There is nothing apolitical about cops. These responses highlight the privileged perspectives and ignorance that led the comedians to include Blackface in their sketch in the first place.</blockquote>
The saddest part of the A.V. Club response? How many readers blasted the site for its uber-woke stance. Here’s just one example:
<blockquote>The sketch used blackface knowingly as an attempt to punch up, skewering both white privilege and police brutality. There was no racial stereotyping, and people of color weren’t the butt of the joke. It’s akin to Tropic Thunder, and it is 100% fine. 
S*** like this article fuels the slippery slope “woke scolds” caricature. </blockquote>
Even worse?
Readers searched the site’s archives, found the official A.V. Club review of that particular episode. <a href="https://tv.avclub.com/a-hilarious-with-bob-and-david-tackles-tech-giants-pol-1798186189">Guess what it said?</a>
<blockquote>One of Bob and David’s favorite subjects to mock are cultural warriors that wrap themselves in social causes but only really want to draw attention to themselves…
It’s a dicey premise, but Bob and David play it perfectly because the joke is ultimately on the obnoxious Daughtry, unaware that his white privilege affords him freedom from police harassment as he mugs for the camera with tidbits about civil liberties….It’s a brilliant attack against white liberals too oblivious of their own advantages to see that their selfless actions are often foolish and misguided, and also frequently does more harm than good.</blockquote>
What a difference five years, and a flipped narrative, makes.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Cancel

A.V. Club Slams Canceled Blackface Sketch … It Once Raved About

Democrat Senator Tim Kaine proved that millennials aren’t the only ones who’ve never read a history book when he stood on the floor of the Senate this week to denounce America’s <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeljknowles/status/1272960969862344704?s=20">invention</a> of slavery.
Kain said, “The United States didn’t inherit slavery from anybody; we created it,” tracing our alleged creation of slavery back to 1619, over 150 years before the United States was founded.
The most generous possible interpretation of this seemingly incoherent remark is that the United States “created” slavery in the United States. This would be true, of course, but by the same logic we might say that the United States created the wheel, irrigation, agriculture, and Chinese food, in that none of these things existed in the United States until the United States existed. In other words, the United States’ version of all of these things was created by the United States. An accurate statement, but also weirdly redundant and unnecessary.
The more obvious and direct interpretation is that Tim Kaine believes, or at least wants us to believe, that the institution of slavery itself was designed and implemented by Americans. Indeed many in this country, especially college students, seem to be under this impression. In fact, a university professor has <a href="https://www.thecollegefix.com/college-students-think-america-invented-slavery-professor-finds/">polled</a> students on their historical knowledge and found that a vast majority hold this very belief: that slavery is unique to our country, and we carry almost all of the blame for it.
This is the message sent loud and clear by the mobs tearing down statues, and the BLM activists demanding that white people kneel and apologize, and the leftists who degrade western civilization and its achievements. White westerners, it is said, have a unique reason to apologize. They are the descendants of history’s greatest villains. Any discussion of historical atrocities should begin and end with them.
This is all nonsense, of course. For one thing, nobody is responsible for the actions of their ancestors, and one man cannot and should not apologize to another man for events that occurred before either were born. To apologize for something is to take responsibility for it, but you obviously cannot take responsibility for things that were done at a time when you did not actually exist. We can discuss the legacy of these events, and how they still affect people today, but nobody involved in the conversation has any reason for guilt or remorse. Empathy and understanding are one thing, and a good thing, but there is nothing good about falling to your knees and begging forgiveness for actions you never took and decisions you never made. This, at best, is performative self-flagellation. At worst, it is a show of sincere and delusional self-loathing. In either case, it is not healthy.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I-OAUF0vWN8?start=63" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">﻿</iframe>
For another thing, the United States in fact did not invent slavery or racism. White Europeans did not invent it, either. If the guilt of slavery can be inherited from one generation to another, then we have all inherited it, we are all stained by it. The institution goes back 10,000 years or more to the Neolithic Revolution. As long as human society has had agriculture, it has had slaves to do the work. The soil on every continent on Earth, save Antarctica, has been tilled by slaves. Slavery was a common and almost unquestioned practice everywhere, all over the world, among nearly all people, for many thousands of years.
If Europeans did not invent slavery, can they at least be blamed for the formation of the slave trade? No. Slaves were traded as commodities as far back as Ancient Egypt. For centuries before the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Arab traders would conduct their own raids in Africa, capturing African villagers and shipping them back to the Arabian peninsula for sale.
Was slavery in the United States or the colonies more brutal and inhumane than other iterations of the practice? Again, no. It was brutal and inhumane, but it would be hard to argue that it was worse, morally, than the forms of slavery common across the globe. For example, in the Sub-Saharan slave trade, established about 1,000 years before the United States came into being, young boys were routinely castrated and then sold into forced labor in Asia, the Middle East, or within Africa. It’s worth noting that slavery was not fully abolished in Africa until <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/03/world/mauritania.slaverys.last.stronghold/index.html">1981</a>.
Can we at least blame Americans or Europeans for bringing slavery to North America? Once again, no. Slavery was commonplace in the Americas well before European settlers showed up. Native American tribes enslaved each other, often by conquest and capture. Those who wish to make the slavery practiced by Europeans seem appreciably worse than other forms will often claim that Native American slavery was more humane and less permanent. This may have been true in some cases, but certainly not all. In Mesoamerica, a slave would often have his period of servitude ended when he was ritualistically butchered as a human sacrifice, which was a widespread practice in the region for hundreds of years.
The Chimu in modern day Peru carried out the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/04/mass-child-human-animal-sacrifice-peru-chimu-science/">worst mass sacrifice</a> of children ever to occur on Earth, as far as we know. Over 140 children were slaughtered, probably by having their hearts cut out of their chests while they were still alive. In another particularly grisly episode, the Aztecs killed and dismembered 84,000 human sacrifices in the span of just four days to consecrate a new temple. This is easily one of the worst cases of mass slaughter carried out anywhere, at any time in history, and the Aztecs pulled it off without modern weaponry. Granted, not all of these sacrifices would have been slaves, but the point is that this was not a civilization unfamiliar with brutality and inhumanity.
In fact, Native Americans <a href="https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/native-americans-who-owned-slaves/">took part</a> in African slavery as well. By the time of the Civil War, 15% of the Cherokee population was comprised of black slaves. Indian tribes could be quite brutal to their black slaves, too. In one case, a black slave named Lucy was accused of murder and then <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5HpLmevAz3YC&amp;pg=PA30&amp;lpg=PA30&amp;dq=slave+lucy+burned+alive+choctaw&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=BhFN4-90iN&amp;sig=ACfU3U2au7_9QnPYsYGE-I1qAJJlIRHAPw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjqyISb84jqAhWNRTABHfA1BwoQ6AEwAnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&amp;q=slave%20lucy%20burned%20alive%20choctaw&amp;f=false">burned alive</a> by an angry group of Choctaws.
I am not arguing that the slavery practiced by white Americans was “less bad” just because everyone else was doing it. Slavery in America was a horrid abomination, which is why we celebrate its abolition — an abolition that came only 90 years after the formation of the country. The United States, as a nation, had legal slavery for less than a century. For comparison sake, China had slavery for 3,000 years and only officially abolished it in the 20th century, though unofficially it still exists today. This, again, does not lessen the brutality of American slavery or mitigate the evil of the institution. But it does go to show that the exclusive focus on slavery in America, and the insistence that white Americans have inherited unique guilt because of it, is simply wrong.
If there ever comes a time when we are ready to have a mature, nuanced discussion of slavery, racism, and their legacies in the modern day, I will be eager to participate in it. After all, we cannot understand where we are, or anticipate where we’re headed, until we know where we’ve been. But this discussion is only possible and can only be worthwhile if we look at history with a wider lens, understanding the context of the institutions and attitudes we rightly revile today. If we have already decided from the outset that, whatever happened in history, white people must have been especially bad and the evil they committed must have been unique to them, then there is no point. We cannot have any discussion. We are like children making reality into a cartoon.
But if we are prepared to look honestly at our history as a species, and see that we are all the descendants of deeply flawed human beings, who were often brutal and bigoted, and who, until very recently, had no concept of inherent human equality and little notion of racial tolerance, but who also struggled mightily and made great sacrifices and achieved great things for our sake, then perhaps a fruitful dialogue can finally take place.
More from Matt Walsh: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-if-you-value-our-national-history-and-the-rule-of-law-you-should-oppose-the-destruction-of-monuments">If You Value Our National History And The Rule Of Law, You Should Oppose The Destruction Of Monuments</a>

Shackle

WALSH: No, America Didn’t Invent Slavery. Here Are The Facts.

Democratic Party

Slavery

Tim Kaine

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, took the Senate floor on Wednesday to dismiss the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-unveil-justice-act-in-bid-to-beat-house-democrats-to-police-reform">JUSTICE Act</a> police reform bill presented by Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who is African-American, as a &#8220;token&#8221; bill.
&#8220;[T]hese younger people are telling us, &#8216;Once and for all, change it, grownups. You&#8217;re supposed to be in charge; you&#8217;re supposed to have the authority,&#8221; said the Senate Minority Whip, referencing Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police protesters.
&#8220;So what we say on the Democratic side is we cannot waste this historic moment, this singular opportunity,&#8221; Durbin continued. &#8220;Let&#8217;s not do something that is a token, half-hearted approach.&#8221;
After pausing a moment to cough, the Illinois Democrat added, &#8220;Let&#8217;s focus instead on making a change that will make a difference in the future of America.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (Democrat, Illinois) pushed a racist dog whistle on the Senate floor this morning, using the word &quot;token&quot; while discussing the Sen. Tim Scott led bill on police reform. <a href="https://t.co/dvrNpfBpkE">pic.twitter.com/dvrNpfBpkE</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1273280724133609472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The &#8220;token&#8221; comment prompted immediate backlash online, including from Townhall editor and Fox News contributor Guy Benson, who tweeted: &#8220;Dick Durbin — the second ranking Senate Democrat — just referred to [Sen. Tim Scott&#8217;s] bill as a &#8216;token&#8217; approach, in a floor speech. Subtle!&#8221;
Responding to Benson&#8217;s tweet, Sen. Scott directed a message to his Democratic colleague.
&#8220;Y’all still wearing those kente cloths over there [Sen. Durbin],&#8221; wrote Scott, a reference to the Democrats&#8217; much-criticized decision to wear the traditional African cloth around their necks while kneeling in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters. 
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Y’all still wearing those kente cloths over there <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenatorDurbin</a>? <a href="https://t.co/h3WETXn3We">https://t.co/h3WETXn3We</a>
&mdash; Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorTimScott/status/1273283190044721155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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According to Sen. Scott, Durbin&#8217;s &#8220;token&#8221; comment follows a pattern of similar racist &#8220;dog-whistle&#8221; digs directed at the Republican senator.
&#8220;Not surprising the last 24 hours have seen a lot of &#8216;token&#8217; &#8216;boy&#8217; or &#8216;you’re being used&#8217; in my mentions,&#8221; Scott tweeted last week. &#8220;Let me get this straight&#8230;you DON’T want the person who has faced racial profiling by police, been pulled over dozens of times, or been speaking out for YEARS drafting this?&#8221;
&#8220;And don’t throw &#8216;you’re the only black guy they know&#8217; at me either,&#8221; he added in a follow-up post. &#8220;There are only two black Democratic Senators, stop pretending there’s some huge racial diversity gap in the Senate. Ask my [Democratic] colleagues what their staffs look like&#8230;I guarantee you won’t like the answer.&#8221;
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And don’t throw “you’re the only black guy they know” at me either. There are only two black Democratic Senators, stop pretending there’s some huge racial diversity gap in the Senate. Ask my Dem colleagues what their staffs look like&#8230;I guarantee you won’t like the answer.
&mdash; Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorTimScott/status/1270721293025808393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Before swiping back at Durbin, Scott posted video of his introduction to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-unveil-justice-act-in-bid-to-beat-house-democrats-to-police-reform">JUSTICE Act</a>, which he announced as intended &#8220;to restore the broken trust between communities and color and law enforcement through three essential pieces: reform, accountability, and transparency.&#8221;
&#8220;The time to act is now!&#8221; said Scott in his announcement online of the initiative he spearheaded. &#8220;We hear you America, and the JUSTICE Act provides solutions!&#8221;
Scott&#8217;s legislation would <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republicans-release-police-reform-legislation">establish</a> an &#8220;enhanced use-of-force database, pursue restrictions on chokeholds and create new commissions to study law enforcement and race.&#8221;
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JUSTICEAct?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JUSTICEAct</a> works to restore the broken trust between communities and color and law enforcement through three essential pieces: reform, accountability, and transparency.
The time to act is now!
We hear you America, and the JUSTICE Act provides solutions! <a href="https://t.co/wRA8ygEq0y">pic.twitter.com/wRA8ygEq0y</a>
&mdash; Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorTimScott/status/1273253695204003841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-unveil-justice-act-in-bid-to-beat-house-democrats-to-police-reform">Senate Republicans Unveil ‘Justice Act’ In Bid To Beat House Democrats To Police Reform</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Dick Durbin

WATCH: High-Ranking Dem Senator Calls Black Sen. Tim Scott’s Bill ‘Token’ Approach; Scott Fires Back

Tim Scott

Quaker Oats announced on Wednesday that it is going to rename and rebrand its pancake brand, Aunt Jemima, amid growing backlash online because the name was based on a &#8220;racial stereotype.&#8221;
&#8220;The brand, founded in 1889, is built on images of a black female character that have often been criticized as offensive,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/business/aunt-jemima-racial-stereotype.html">reported</a>. &#8220;Even after going through several redesigns — pearl earrings and a lace collar were added in 1989 — Aunt Jemima was still seen by many as a symbol of slavery.&#8221;
In a <a href="https://stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2020/06/17/aunt-jemima-brand-to-remove-image-from-packaging-and-change-brand-name">statement</a>, Kristin Kroepfl, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Quaker Foods North America, said:
<blockquote>As we work to make progress toward racial equality through several initiatives, we also must take a hard look at our portfolio of brands and ensure they reflect our values and meet our consumers&#8217; expectations. We recognize Aunt Jemima&#8217;s origins are based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to update the brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize those changes are not enough.
We acknowledge the brand has not progressed enough to appropriately reflect the confidence, warmth and dignity that we would like it to stand for today. We are starting by removing the image and changing the name. We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand and make it one everyone can be proud to have in their pantry.</blockquote>
The Times later added that the name was based on a minstrel song called &#8220;Old Aunt Jemima&#8221; which some have said represented a &#8220;plantation nostalgia and romance grounded in an idea about the ‘mammy,’ a devoted and submissive servant who eagerly nurtured the children of her white master and mistress while neglecting her own.'&#8221;
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aunt-jemima-brand-will-change-name-remove-image-quaker-says-n1231260?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma">reported</a> that Quaker Oats said that &#8220;the new packaging will begin to appear in the fall of 2020, and a new name for the foods will be announced at a later date.&#8221;
The statement from Quaker Oats, which is owned by PepsiCo, Inc., added:
<blockquote>PepsiCo was built on the foundation that we thrive because of our diversity and, when we embrace the full spectrum of humanity, we succeed together. In that spirit, the Aunt Jemima brand will donate a minimum of $5 million over the next five years to create meaningful, ongoing support and engagement in the Black community.
In addition to the changes on Aunt Jemima, PepsiCo is committed to making significant change for its people, its business and the communities in which we live and work.
Yesterday PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta announced the next step in PepsiCo&#8217;s journey for racial equality: a more than $400 million set of initiatives over five years to lift up Black communities and increase Black representation at PepsiCo. These initiatives comprise a holistic effort for PepsiCo to walk the talk of a leading corporation and help address the need for systemic change. The activities focus on three pillars—People, Business, and Communities.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

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Race

Poll: How Do Americans Feel Now About Changing Military Base Names, Reparations, Chokeholds?

Man Fired From ‘Dream Job’ Over ‘White Supremacist’ Gesture; He’s Mexican-American, Says He Was Just Cracking His Knuckles

Atlanta Police Continuing To Call Out Sick Over D.A.’s Decision To Charge Police Officer

Oakland Mayor Launches Hate Crime Probe Into ‘Nooses’ In Trees. Black Man Says It’s Exercise Equipment He Put There.

Matt Gaetz Reveals He Has An Adopted Cuban Son After Intense Committee Exchange About Race, Family

Bryce Dallas Howard: I Would Not Act In ‘The Help’ If It Were Being Made Today

WATCH: Rioters Set American Flag On Fire On Top Of George Washington Statue, Tear It Down

Company That Terminated Stepmother Of Atlanta Police Officer Releases New Statement On Her Termination

Body-Cam Footage: Officer Who Shot Brooks Begs Him To Stay Alive: ‘Mr. Brooks Keep Breathing. Keep Breathing For Me’

Candace Owens Slams Coverage Of Floyd, Brooks: ‘Stop Sanctifying Criminals’

Uncle Ben’s Rice To Take Black Man Off Box; Cream Of Wheat Mulls Removing Black Chef

READ IT: Officer Charged With Felony Murder In Rayshard Brooks Shooting Responds Through Legal Team

Atlanta Police Officers Not Responding To Calls In Multiple Zones, Comes After D.A. Charged Officer With Murder In Rayshard Brooks Case

WATCH: Black Georgia Sheriff Tells CNN: Shooting Of Rayshard Brooks Was ‘Completely Justified’

Attorney For Officer Devin Brosnan Debunks Claim Client Is State Witness, Unloads On D.A. Paul Howard

Georgia Bureau Of Investigation Responds To D.A.’s Charges: We Weren’t Consulted, Investigation Not Over

A.V. Club Slams Canceled Blackface Sketch … It Once Raved About

WALSH: No, America Didn’t Invent Slavery. Here Are The Facts.

WATCH: High-Ranking Dem Senator Calls Black Sen. Tim Scott’s Bill ‘Token’ Approach; Scott Fires Back

Quaker Oats Announces It Is Changing Name Of Aunt Jemima Due To ‘Racial Stereotype’

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